'Boogie Nights' director: 'Dirk Diggler is probably dead now'

Director Paul Thomas Anderson has ruled out a sequel to Boogie Nights, his classic film about the California porn industry in the 1970s.

Released in 1997, the film tells the story of a nightclub dishwasher called Eddie Adams, played by Mark Wahlberg, who uses the huge gift that God gave him to pursue a career in blue movies. After being discovered by director Jack Horner, played by Burt Reynolds, Eddie reinvents himself as adult film actor Dirk Diggler and joins a stable of porn stars including Heather Graham's Rollergirl and Julianne Moore's Amber Waves.

When asked whether Boogie Nights could spawn a sequel focusing on today's internet porn industry, Anderson told Moviehole: "You're right.. the whole online thing. [But] you know, I wonder how many of these characters would even still be alive? Probably a few of them, but I fear that most of them might be dead. I doubt Dirk Diggler's still alive. He'd be probably gone. I couldn't see him making it."

Anderson predicted that one in particular of the film's characters would have survived the excesses of the porn industry, saying: "I can see Burt Reynolds' character Jack Horner still going on, though." However, the director quickly dismissed the idea of giving Horner his own spin-off movie.

Meanwhile, Anderson's latest film The Master is thought to be a strong contender for next year's Oscars. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as a war veteran who gets sucked into a religious cult - reportedly based on the Church on Scientology - by Philip Seymour Hoffman's charismatic leader. You can watch the trailer below.